College Point Fields

College Point Fields

College Point Fields, a previously undeveloped lot, is a source of pride for neighborhood residents who participate in organized sports leagues.

The surrounding community was first settled in 1645 when Dutch Governor Willem Kieft (1597-1647) purchased the parcel of land and granted use to Dutch and English families. College Point takes its name from St. Paul’s College, which was founded in 1838 and closed in 1850.

Until the mid-twentieth century, College Point was geographically isolated from the rest of Queens, with only four roads crossing the Mill Creek wetlands to the peninsular neighborhood. To the east of College Point Fields, Flushing Airport operated atop the marshland between 1927 and 1984. Throughout its existence the airport faced opposition due noise complaints, limited clientele, inadequate infrastructure, accidents, and flooding on the runways.

In 1960 the city designated nearly 300 acres adjacent to the airport as the College Point Corporate Park. The goal was to reduce the numbers of manufacturers leaving the city and generate tax income from the undeveloped land. At the northwest corner of the Corporate Park, the College Point Sports Complex received a lease to operate sports fields. In 1996, the city found that a contractor hired to raise the land had illegally dumped hazardous material on the fields. They were closed the following year and a lengthy cleanup began on site.

College Point Fields was assigned to NYC Parks in 1996 and its Little League fields reopened to the public on April 17, 2004. The park includes two baseball fields, two Little League fields, a roller hockey rink, soccer field, comfort station and bleachers. The struggle to clean up and reopen College Point Fields serves as testament to the deeply embedded civic culture of a neighborhood and the popularity of its organized sports leagues.